Oh, Andy. The jury’s still out on whether the careerist closet case can take a dick, but the Daily News‘ Gatecrasher column writes that he can certainly “take a joke.”
On Saturday night, the talk show host checked out “Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays” at the Minetta Lane Theatre, which stars Craig Bierko and Mark Consuelos.
Anderson? At a play about gay marriage? Hard to believe. BTW, Consuelos is Kelly Ripa’s sexy-as-fuck husband, and she’s totally cool with him kissing Bierko. In fact she finds it “voyeuristic and perversely sexy.” Isn’t Ripa more open with her kinkiness than BFF Anderson or what? Anyway, the item continues:
In one of the show’s short plays, a homophobic woman who’s a loosely based amalgamation of Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and commentator Maggie Gallagher rants about gay people taking over everything that she holds dear. “I’m sorry,” the character says, “but the gay people can’t have marriage or Oprah or Anderson Cooper!”
When the line was uttered, a source tells us as a large portion of the audience turned to Cooper to check out his reaction, and found the “Silver Fox” laughing heartily. The source says Cooper, 44, also gave the play, which, sadly, will close Dec. 18, a standing ovation at the curtain call.
Actually, we gays are willing to make a deal. Straights, you can keep Oprah, but we want our Andy. Can we split marriage 50-50?
bagooka
I highly doubt he’s gay. I know it’s a joke and everything, but there are probably one or two people who really do believe it.
shle896
Anderson Cooper is by no means “in the closet”. He chooses, however, not to speak about his sexual preferences. He’s a JOURNALIST and a damned good one at that. CNN pays him to report news, not chat about his sexuality.
If he was married to a woman or “dating” ladies to serve as his beard, that would be one thing, but he is completely OUT and everyone knows it. Who the hell cares?
slanty
Anderson Cooper is asexual, boys and girls. He’s as stiff as a board.
Josh
Who cares, his life is his business. Blah, blah, blah, tired old queerty ploy for web hits….
Kim
@bagooka: One or two people believe he is gay WTF Yeah like his live in boyfriend Ben Maisani.
Zee
On his daytime show, Anderson asked Betty White if she was dating anyone and she quickly told him it was none of his business. He agreed because that’s the way he lives his life as well. He won’t even admit that he dates at all, but that’s his choice. He’s not really out publicly, he’s never made any announcement about it and there are lots of women who may watch his show who believe he’s straight but whatever.
Marie Cohn
Brian Williams is a JOURNALIST and a damned good one at that. NBC pays him to report news, not chat about his sexuality. (Except, we all know he has a wife and he is heterosexual.)
the other Greg
Yeah, yeah, I sort of bought the “journalist” crap back before he became a DAYTIME TALK SHOW HOST, but now it just seems weird.
Robert in NYC
If Anderson were indeed straight and married, nobody would be interested or curious about his sexual orientation. Irrelevant to his job and how he conducts himself in public, so should being gay. I care not if he’s gay or straight as long as he’s not my foe.
Miss Understood
@bagooka: You’re a bit out of the loop. He may not have made a pronouncement but he also doesn’t try too hard to hide his relationship. He appears in public with his boyfriend at his side quite often. They own a home together in the West Village (a Firehouse!). Quite a few gays in Manhattan know them socially, his boyfriend is the owner of a popular gay bar. It’s not just some wacky rumor. But if you really want proof I volunteer to sleep with them both.
gus
Kelly Ripper finds it perversely sexy? yeah right. the same Kelly
Zippa that pushed Clay Aikens hand away saying “I don’t know where that’s been”.
Do ur homework.
Kyle
Anderson Cooper has a partner he lives with doesn’t he?
Eric in Chicago
@bagooka: You highly doubt he’s gay? then you are not paying attention.
bagooka
@Eric in Chicago: I’m terribly sorry I don’t follow the latest gossip on Anderson. I think his private life is his business. He’s not an actor or a famous rapper.
CBRad
The most boring Vanderbilt of all.
shle896
@the other Greg: So, because he has a daytime talk show, that precludes him from being a journalist? He’s a war correspondent, covers hard news for CNN and is a regular contributor to 60 Minutes. You act like he’s Ryan Seacrest or something.
Zee
@Kyle, yes. He lives with his bf of 3 years, Benjamin Maisani, in a gigantic renovated firehouse but they are very low key and private about their relationship. Anderson has never acknowledged that he’s involved with Benjamin but it’s kind of an open secret.
rrr
@gus Kelly is a big fag hag and she’s shown no problem being physical with her gay friends like Neil Patrick Harris and Anderson Cooper. Aiken had spent the first part of the show insulting her rudely and then tried to physically stop her from talking on her own show, and a tabloid had just run a story about him engaging in fisting.
Mike128
Anderson Cooper is NOT a serious journalist. Last time I saw his show, he was getting spray tanned with Snookie. And he finds coming out to be in poor taste?
I have zero respect for him.
christopher di spirito
On the website for ‘Anderson’, his daytime TV dretch, there’s a suggestion box for viewers to suggest what they want to see Anderson Cooper do next.
I filled it out and suggested he come out. I went onto say he can’t seriously expect his guests to trust him when he isn’t being honest with them — or his viewers, the few who actually watch the program.
Until Anderson Cooper comes out, I have no use for him.
Malwyn
@Mike128: Of course he isn’t, but it’s fun to pretend, isn’t it?
Yellow belly
@slanty: I can’t help but agree with you.
Daniel
@Mike128,
He did the spray-tanning bit on his daytime talkshow, not his evening newscast. Being a good journalist and demonstrating professionalism doesn’t mean you must maintain that same level of professionalism in unrelated aspects of your life. And he never said coming out was in poor taste, just that he wants to keep his personal life out of the news. What’s wrong with that?
Global Traveler
If he were reporting on a story about the Vanderbilts, I think most people would expect a quick disclaimer along the lines of: “By the way, I’m related to this family”. Part of me thinks that maybe that same expectation should be there when he reports on the LGBT community. On the other hand, no one expects Stone Phillips or Brian Williams to proclaim their heterosexuality when they’re reporting on a story with a hetero theme. So I’m not sure if I’m being realistic, or holding him to an unfair double standard.
What I do know is that whether or not he’s gay, I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be dating me (damn it all!!), so what difference does it really make in my life?
jj
@Marie Cohn: I didn’t know that. In fact, I know very little about him except that he’s a journalist and goes on the Daily Show frequently.
geoff
@CBRad: Once again, Anderson Hays Cooper – not a Vanderbilt. But I’m curious, which Vanderbilt’s do you find not boring?
CBRad
@geoff: You don’t have to have that last name to be one of the V.s! ( The illiterate one who, nevertheless, was able to achieve what he did..)
Cam
@bagooka: said….
“I highly doubt he’s gay. I know it’s a joke and everything, but there are probably one or two people who really do believe it.”
_________________
Yeah, you Cooper fangirls are always scanning the net and trying to post things like that. Fact is he has a boyfriend and everybody knows it.
http://www.showbizspy.com/article/233107/anderson-cooper-to-marry-boyfriend.html
@ No. 2 · shle896
Anderson Cooper is by no means “in the closet”. He chooses, however, not to speak about his sexual preferences. He’s a JOURNALIST and a damned good one at that. CNN pays him to report news, not chat about his sexuality.
___________________-
And another little fangirl. Your lame excuse might POSSIBLY hold water if he hadn’t ALREADY talked about his mother being Gloria Vanderbuilt, his father, his brothers suicide, going to Studio 54 as a ten year old etc… In fact the ONLY thing he DOESN’T publicize is his sexuality. So nice try but phony.
George412
@shle896:
Diane Sawyer is a JOURNALIST and a damned good one at that. ABC pays her to report news, not chat about her sexuality, but we all know she is married to Mike Nichols.
Jane Pauley is married to Gary Trudeau
Connie Chung is married to Maury Povich
Tom Brokaw has been married for years and has daughters
Charlie Gibson is married and has 2 daughters
George Stephanopolous is married to a woman named Allie and has 2 daughters
We all know who Maria Shriver married
Walter Cronkite was married to Betsy Cronkite for over 50 years
Matt Lauer is married and cheats on his wife
Julie Chen is married with a toddler
Al Roker is married to Deborah Roberts
Elizabeth Vargas is married to a musician and has young children
Katie Couric was married and her husband passed away from Cancer. She has 2 daughters and is now dating a man 20 years younger than her.
Need I go on about newscasters? Your relationship doesn’t have to be part of the story, but if you come into America’s homes every day it is just natural that you learn about a person.
I don’t go to work and make my relationship the focal point but people I work with and who meet me outside of work and in my every day would definitely learn about my partner because he is part of my life.
Chadboy
@Daniel:
You can’t write for THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER and US WEEKLY during the day and then write for UTNE READER and THE ECONOMIST at night be expected to be taken seriously as a print journalist. The same goes for Anderson. He has lost his credibility by stooping to spray tanning with Snooki and lying in be with Kathi Griffin.
Top to Bottom
I don’t know why people keep calling him ‘closeted’. If you google “Anderson Cooper boyfriend” it becomes clear VERY quickly who Mr. Cooper is bonking.
Lazycrockett
But don’t you know only when Anderson comes out publicly the world will be transformed into an utopian society where all the young gay kids will not be bullied and picked on in school. A “famous” person isn’t going to stop what is going on in today’s schools. It starts and ends in the communities. That is where the focus needs to be.
tj
Well yes he is gay but I don’t know that he’s in the closet per se. He lives in Chelsea frolics around the David Barton Gym, lives with his boyfriend Ben. I’m guessing people want him to go on air and say I’m gay. This would not be a good idea in his line of work. He literally would be putting his life in danger when traveling to Africa and the Middle East, not to mention the lives of people who work with him.
All that said. He’s a terrible talk show host. Worst show I’ve ever seen. He needs to stick to hard nosed reporting.
Side note he’s hot and so is his boyfriend.
ZHammer
Remember you have all the power. When gay-queer people do it first straights-hets will follow. Boycott closeted, dishonest, glass closet, straight for pay celebs. There are hundreds of gay-queer people to give your money & support to. We, the public, can give and take fame away. We can replace closeted celebs with out celebs. There are a lot of out actors, directors, singers, journalist you can support. Even if no one else boycotts your 1-man boycott is the beginning. Out celebs are more fun, more intelligent, more likeable, more reliable than closeted celebs. Check out this new gay date movie: Keep the Lights On by director Ira Sachs. Check out: http://www.adayinhand.com/ A Day in Hand – Same Sex Hand Holding (SSHH!) – Our Silent Revolution, where straight heterosexual men hold hands in public to show solidarity/ support for gay male public affection.
mk
@ Cam
In fact the ONLY thing he DOESN’T publicize is his sexuality.
That’s not true. There are many major things he doesn’t publicize such as his religious beliefs, personal politics, positions on controversial public policy issues and his half brothers. You’ve been called out on this falsehood a number of times before. So nice try but phony.
He opens up about a select number of things and chooses not to open up about many other things. That’s what most celebrities do.
Curt
Clearly AC is gay. Attends gay parties, goes to a gay gym, went to see the gay movie weekend, went to a gay play, oh yeah lives in a gay neighborhood! Lol Need i go on? Not every gay person feels the need to tell the world however. He’s just living his off camera gay life…
adam
@Chadboy: News people don’t lose their credibility just by doing those kind of pop culture interviews and encounters. Larry King remained a news man and performed serious prestigious interviews regardless of Larry having reality show idiots like Paris Hilton and Dog the Bounty Hunter on his show part of the time and Larry cruising around the streets with Snoop Dogg on camera. Morning news people juggle pop culture silliness and serious news. Edward R. Murrow had a light celebrity interview show he did while he was also anchoring his heavy news show at night.
shle896
@Cam: I think we all look forward to the day when someone’s sexuality is matter-of-fact and beside the point, which is the attitude Cooper has adopted.
He’s no different than Jodie Foster. EVERYBODY knows she’s a lesbian, but who the fuck cares? First and foremost, she’s an actress and if she’s on talk shows and magazine covers talking about who she sleeps with, her acting (and Cooper’s journalism)get lost in the mix.
My point is, he’s not HIDING anything. Perhaps one day he will speak publicly about it, but in the meantime, it is his choice. He and Jodie Foster having thriving careers and they don’t need to publicize their sexuality in order to get attention and publicity. And yes, Anderson Cooper has opened up about who his mom is and about his brother’s suicide, but those are extraordinary circumstances and stories. Lots of people are gay, but not too many have lost a brother to suicide or have a wealthy world-famous socialite for a mother.
I don’t get why people are so angry about this on here. Is he supposed to hold a press conference to alert the media that he likes to suck dick? Is that newsworthy? Save your anger for celebrity closet cases who pretend to be straight and continue to deceive the public and pretend to be something they’re not.
The gay community would be better served if more gay celebrities and media figures adopted his attitude. You’re not fostering change in acceptance by shouting “I’m gay!” from the rooftops. Let the public see people as people first and foremost. Being gay should be beside the point.
Cam
@mk: said….”That’s not true. There are many major things he doesn’t publicize such as his religious beliefs, personal politics, positions on controversial public policy issues and his half brothers. You’ve been called out on this falsehood a number of times before. So nice try but phony.”
____________________________
Nice try liar. You’ve never called me out on anything although you’ve tried. Your tactic is to pretend that your saying something false makes it true.
As for your comment. The comment was that Cooper keeps his private life private. I pointed out that that was a lie. He talks about MAJOR portions of his personal life accept for his sexuality. You had to desperately twist that to fake your point.
As for the people who claim that Cooper isn’t closeted, can we please end that lie? It is an insult to all the people who live in places where being gay is less safe who come out.
Cooper will be out when he mentions his boyfriend or his engagement publically. What he is doing is the same thing that people do when their friends know they are gay but their family still thinks they haven’t met the right person yet.
And as for Jodie Foster…the person who said she didn’t give a fuck? Really? Thats why when her brother gave an interview saying she was gay she responded by attacking him saying he didn’t know her. She has inched since that time, but lets not pretend it wasn’t the cowardice it was.
shle896
@Cam: Wow! Why are you so angry?
David Ehrenstein
@Robert in NYC: If Anderson Cooper were out and honest no one would be interested in his sexual orientation.
David Ehrenstein
@Cam: SING OUT LOUISE!
Patrick
Maybe we can focus on getting career closeted people like Lily Tomlin to finally fess up. She has a few years on Anderson…
Chadboy
@adam:
In the industry as well with many viewers on-air talent can’t go both ways and be taken seriously. It might be done but it isn’t right. It isn’t Anderson’s fault. It’s his team of agents and managers. It all started when he was the host of the reality show, THE MOLE. No one serious about having a career in journalism would have taken that gig. It didn’t prevent Anderson from moving on with his career, but that move along with the daytime talk show certainly tarnished his journalistic chops and his credibility. So many people get caught up in Cooper’s looks and don’t judge him on his work. At the end of his career his name won’t be mentioned with the likes of Murrow, Brinkley, Cronkite, Jennings, etc.
Cam
@shle896: said…
“@Cam: Wow! Why are you so angry?”
____________________________
The typical response of somebody who has lost the argument.
Sam
@Patrick: You’re joking, right? Lily Tomlin has been out for literally a decade.
CPT_Doom
@geoff #25 – Anderson’s mother is Gloria Vanderbilt, who was the subject of a well-known custody case in the 30s after her father died and his family didn’t think her mother was appropriate to be raising her. She was largely raised by her aunt Gertrude Venderbilt Whitney. That makes Anderson the great-great-grandson of the Commodore himself.
As for his being out – he knows that “everyone knows” he’s gay, but either chooses not to publicly come out or has been told by his CNN bosses that he cannot come out and maintain his job (rumors of the latter have been around for years). As others have pointed out, Cooper lives an openly gay life with his partner, and I doubt there is anyone in his personal life who does not know of his sexuality. It is the media that is the problem, and Cooper is part of it. Just as with Rosie O’Donnell before she officially came out, NPH before he officially came out and Jodie Foster before she sort-of came out (okay, she acknowledged some kind of relationship with her then partner), the media will not report on the same-sex relationships of famous people until and unless they actually publicly come out. Meanwhile the hetero comings and goings of every semi-famous straight person’s love life are discussed endlessly, whether they acknowledge the relationships or not (aside, have Beyonce and Jay-Z actually admitted they’re married yet?).
As gay people we should not be advocating for people to come out, but we should be demanding equal treatment in the media. If someone like Cooper lives openly with a partner, then Page 6 and other gossip rags should feel free to discuss them as a couple, whether the individuals involved confirm the relationship or not.
Curt
@CPT_Doom: I agree with you on that. Anderson is just living his life… he goes to a gay gym, lives in a gay neighborhood, has an openly gay boyfriend, goes to gay plays, gay movies, gay parties… he just doesn’t want to talk about it.
I wonder how many people would be interested in AC if in fact he discuss everything? Is he really that interesting? He’s not going to kill anyone with personality that’s for sure. I first really learned about him when he did a story on 60 minutes on skid row in May 0f 2007, something about his reporting that got my attention. Only later on after reading blogs did I hear about the gay rumors. And when I saw didn’t he hasn’t confirmed or denied it, I came to my on conclusions.
Anyway, not every gay person feels like they have to tell the whole world what gender they like. People should be more concerned about equality for all people, not who likes who, or sleeping with who. I sometimes think Anderson is trying to make that statment by him keeping silent on that aspect of his life.
Cam
@Curt: said…
“Anyway, not every gay person feels like they have to tell the whole world what gender they like. People should be more concerned about equality for all people, not who likes who, or sleeping with who. I sometimes think Anderson is trying to make that statment by him keeping silent on that aspect of his life.”
__________________________
I’ll give it to you Kurt, without meaning to you give an eloquent defense of cowardice.
BubbasBack
AC: 360 degrees of cowardly crap all around. burp.
shle896
@Cam: Just because I have a different opinion than yours doesn’t make me or any of the rest of us on this forum a liar or the loser of an argument. You have, however, shown everybody on here that you’re a bitchy fucktard.
Patrick
@Sam: She’s never uttered the words – please provide a link!
RT
I wonder just how often we have these “Anderson Cooper, gay or straight?” discussions a year? Probably everyday.
Devon A
@shle896: You got Cam’s number!
George412
@shle896:
I disagree. I think Cam is great.
Bryan
@shle896: Well up unto this post, there hasn’t been any insults posted by Cam, so you’re kinda looking like the “bitchy fucktard” here.
On AC: it might be an open secret that he’s out, but let’s not pretend that the reason he’s not OUT OUT is because he chose to be that way.
Jeff
Cooper is a closet queen and yes he’s gay and still deep in the closet, and he refuses to come out since to him being gay is something he’s ashamed of.
Shannon1981
Cooper needs to just say it and get it over with. Everyone knows anyway, but he is acting like a closet case by not saying it on there air. He has nothing to lose now. He’s rich and famous enough to where it simply does not matter. If Don Lemon can do it, so can he.
CBRad
@Shannon1981: Hi Shannon. You know, maybe Cooper knows he gets more attention if he doesn’t “come out”? It does seem to keep a lot of people interested in him…not whether he’s gay or not, but whether he’ll actually state it or not. Celebrities know how to play these publicity games.
Interesting
@George412:Exactly. I can not imagine being in a social setting with straights in which they told me being straight is “private” It is such a clear sign that this is about the stigma of being gay rather than privacy. Privacy is “who are you dating” not “are you straight or gay” No one thinks of being straight as private. That’s the tell that this is just rationalization.
Interesting
@Lazycrockett: We do know that people who have no arguments engage in straw man arguments.
Interesting
@shle896: Why the personal attacks? If you can’t respond to Cam’s argument, who I have disagreed with in the past, just don’t post. You and others are defending this man’s closet. I see what cooper gets out of it. I ahve yet to figure out what any of you get o ut of it besides the ability to twist arguments online.
Interesting
@CPT_Doom: He’s not living as an “openly gay man” He’s in a closet that others protect. The sophistry here in which one is not in the closet unless no one else knows is just that- sophistry. By that logic, there have been whole generation of older (which is what i suspect many of you are making this argument) gay men who were never in the closet because family and friends knew, but no one talked about it. That’s the stigmatization of being gay. That there is something so wrong with it that as long as one is silent – that’s okay. Its why one saw statements like Silence=Death. Although coming out of HIV and its spread, the deeper point was about how society tries to control groups of people. One of those tools is silence. There is no problem as long as no one say anything. This leads in history to a great deal of atrocities.
Interesting
@CBRad: He’s doing it because he fears being out to the public. The same reason as any closet case does it.
The reason why he’s so brazen about being in the “public closet” which is what we are discussing here is because he knows people will protect that closet in the press and amongst his fan base.
The “public closet” is one in which one is privately out to friends and family, but allows the belief that one is straight in public life. Hollywood is full of them and has been for several decades now. This is how Rock Hudson happened in which everyone was “shocked” in the greater public who did not follow Hollywood. By the logic of some here, because the friends and family may have known, he was therefore “out” Its pure sophistry and I have no idea what people here get out of engaging in it.
The game here is to pretend there is one version of the closet. But to understand the closet one must understand what purpose it serves. The purpose of the closet is to say there is something wrong with being gay.
So, whether one is in the closet with one’s family and friends or one does it with the general public along one is still saying the same thing “there is something wrong with being gay”
This view is inecapable once you cut through all the b.s. about privacy which doesn’t make sense when you look at cooper’s actions and with other journalists who are out about being straight. No one thinks of being straight as ‘private.” That the reverse is true of being gay is why its about stigma. That exists whether one is talking about stigma to one’s family and friends or stigma to the general public.
CBRad
@Interesting: Okay. All that might be true too. I don’t know, I was just sort of guessing.
Interesting
@CBRad: Occam’s Razor. (a) Cooper is in the closet because of the stigma that the public has for being gay? The reason most people are the closet. (b) Or, Cooper is in the closet because of some wholly new reason that no one has thought of before in the news business? Occam’s Razor says (a). Its the same basic premise that says if he cares so much about privacy why is he not interested in any other area. Just like if people here cared so much about it, why are they willing to be on a gossip site in which other tabloid info is given out? The simple answer is likely the right one in the both cases. That Cooper is in a public closet, and that privacy here is being used as a sham to protect that closet.
Alex
I agree Cooper is a closet queen and yeah he’s not that good of a ‘journalist’ at all.
Jack
The man I am falling in love becomes gay? Coop, come to me! 😀
Making up stuff is fun!
Ugh, so many angry, bitter, judgmental people on this board.